The latest “Song of the Day” comes way out from left field. I’ve posted many metal of different types, hard rock, blues, classical, film scores and even some video game scores, but I still haven’t moved into the realm of pop music from Asia. To start things off I decided on a very catchy tune from a Korean all-girl K-Pop group: Brown Eyed Girls.
Their song “Abracadabra” is a megahit with the otaku crowd and those who follow Asian pop music. I came across the song through a video that was recommended by Youtube to me. I have no idea how that happened but after watching the video I was quite thankful that it did.
I have no idea what the ladies are singing about other than what I’ve read on-line. The song is about blind love and the danger that comes with it. Sounds like a song tailor made for those of the yandere stripe. What I do know is that the group (comprised of Ga-In, Narsha, JeA and Miryo) and this song with its unique brand of hip dancing actually one of the more popular videos on-line. I guarantee that listening, or watching this video, will get it hooks into people and get them to subconsciously do the very hip dance even while sitting down.
The latest choice for “Song of the Day” came to me while I was reading the last third of Max Brooks’ very awesome novel World War Z. In a later chapter in the novel when the survivors of the United States during an ongoing zombie apocalypse finally go on the offensive and leave the relative safety of the West Coast and the Rockies which provide a natural barrier from the hundreds of millions of zombies to the east. During this offensive the forces uses a particular song to lure zombies into an ambush zone where they could be destroyed en masse. The song the soldiers and their superiors used to help lure the undead and to also pump up the men was Iron Maiden’s “The Trooper”.
The song is another one of those Iron Maiden songs which takes its inspiration from a moment in military history and from a classic English poem. This time around the moment in military history is the Charge of the Light Brigade during the the Battle of Balaclava of the Crimean War (1854). The English poem which inspired the song was Lord Tennyson’s poem of the same name. This is classic heavy metal at its best. We have the galloping bass rhythm which sounds like the Light Brigade mentioned above making their courageous, but ill-fated charge into the muskets and cannons of the Russian forces.
I could continue to try and describe all the other musical details about this song, but I feel I’m ill-equipped to do so. I’m sure the site’s own music and metal expert necromoonyeti could better describe the awesome guitar work by Dave Murray and Adrian Smith during this song.
One thing that I am sure of is that if there ever was a zombie apocalypse and I found myself one of the survivors looking to take back the country then this would be part of my playlist when I’m destroying zed heads.
The Trooper
You’ll take my life but I’ll take yours too You’ll fire your musket but I’ll run you through So when you’re waiting for the next attack You’d better stand there’s no turning back
The bugle sounds as the charge begins But on this battlefield no one wins The smell of acrid smoke and horses breath As you plunge into a certain death
Ooooohhhhhhh
The horse he sweats with fear we break to run The mighty roar of the Russian guns And as we race towards the human wall The screams of pain as my comrades fall
We hurdle bodies that lay on the ground And as the Russians fire another round We get so near yet so far away We won’t live to fight another day
Solo
Ooooooooohhhhhhh
We get so close near enough to fight When a Russian gets me in his sights He pulls the trigger and I feel the blow A burst of rounds takes my horse below
And as I lay there gazing at the sky My body’s numb and my throat is dry And as I lay forgotten and alone Without a tear I draw my parting groan
Resident site writer and music-editor necromoonyeti knows more about the history of the Swedish metal band Bathory who helped pioneer not just black metal but an even more awesome subgenre we now know as Viking metal. I’m still educating myself in the sounds of Bathory, but one particular song from their epic discography which has caught my attention would be the 7th song from their 6th album, Twilight of the Gods. This song makes the latest “Song of the Day” and it’s simply called “Hammerheart”.
“Hammerheart” was the only song from Bathory’s sixth album which wasn’t written by it’s founder Quorthon but adapted from English composer Gustav Holst’s orchestral suite The Planets. To be more concise this Bathory adaptation uses an excerpt from The Planets’ fourth movement called “Jupiter”. The Holst song must’ve made quite an impression on Quorthon for it remains one of the more memorable Bathory songs once he switched the band from it’s 80’s black metal days to the slower, heavier style which would become Viking metal.
This song, every time I listen to it, makes me think of the cold, icy fjords being plied by dragonships full of Viking raiders as they move in and out of the rivers and tributaries of mainland Europe to bring their unique brand of culture to mainland Europe. It also makes me think of Viking funerals with this song being played as an accompaniment. I may not have Norse blood in my veins but this song lets me imagine that I do.
Hammerheart
Now that the wind called my name And my star had faded now hardly a glimpse up in the empty space And the wise one-eyed great father in the sky stilled my flame
For the ones who stood me near And you few who were me dear I ask of thee to have no doubts and no fears
For when the great clouds fills the air And the thunder roars from o, so far away up in the sky Then for sure you will know that I have reached the joyous hall up high
With my bloodbrothers at side All sons of father with one eye We were all born in the land of the blood on ice
And now you all who might hear my song Brought to you by the northern wind have no fear Though the night may seem so everlasting and forever dark
There will come a golden dawn At ends of nights for all yee on whom Upon the northstar always shines
The vast gates to hall up high Shall stand open wide and welcome you with all its within And Oden shall hail us bearers of a pounding Hammerheart
This coming December 2012 will see another stage musical make it onto the big screen. It was in 2004 that Joel Schumacher first brought The Phantom of the Operato the big-screen as a musical. For 2012, it will be Academy Award-winner Tom Hooper who will be bringing the musical Les Misérables to the big-screen with a star-studded cast that includes Hugh Jackman in the role of Jean Valjean and Russell Crowe as his arch-nemesis Inspector Javert. It’s also from this musical that I chose the latest “Song of the Day” with the ensemble piece that ends Act 1: “One Day More”.
It was Les Misérables the musical that first introduced me to the world of musicals. Prior to having seen the touring production which stopped over in San Francisco during the late 80’s and early 90’s I always thought of musicals as just not my thing even though I never truly witnessed one. All that changed when I saw Les Misérables and I have been hooked since.
One of my favorite songs from the musical was the ensemble piece that ends Act 1 and brings together all the players introduced in the first act. It wasn’t just the whole cast singing but how they sang as each character were given voice and as the song reaches an epic crescendo to curtains closing everyone joins in a rousing chorus with overlapping lyrics from different main players that at first sounded confusing to follow, but was still understandable.
Most musical nowadays rarely go for such grand closing before intermissions. Listening to “One Day More” shows me that its a lost art but when done well it comes off as amazing.
One Day More
VALJEAN One day more! Another day, another destiny. This never-ending road to Calvary; These men who seem to know my crime Will surely come a second time. One day more!
MARIUS I did not live until today. How can I live when we are parted?
VALJEAN One day more.
MARIUS & COSETTE Tomorrow you’ll be worlds away And yet with you, my world has started!
EPONINE One more day all on my own.
MARIUS & COSETTE Will we ever meet again?
EPONINE One more day with him not caring.
MARIUS & COSETTE I was born to be with you.
EPONINE What a life I might have known.
MARIUS & COSETTE And I swear I will be true!
EPONINE But he never saw me there!
ENJOLRAS One more day before the storm!
MARIUS Do I follow where she goes?
ENJOLRAS At the barricades of freedom.
MARIUS Shall I join my brothers there?
ENJOLRAS When our ranks begin to form
MARIUS Do I stay; and do I dare?
ENJOLRAS Will you take your place with me?
ALL The time is now, the day is here!
VALJEAN One day more!
JAVERT One more day to revolution, We will nip it in the bud! We’ll be ready for these schoolboys They will wet themselves with blood!
VALJEAN One day more!
M. & MME. THENARDIER Watch ’em run amuck, Catch ’em as they fall, Never know your luck When there’s a free for all, Here a little `dip’ There a little `touch’ Most of them are goners So they won’t miss much!
Students (2 Groups)
1: One day to a new beginning
2: Raise the flag of freedom high!
1: Every man will be a king
2: Every man will be a king
1: There’s a new world for the winning
2: There’s a new world to be won
ALL Do you hear the people sing?
MARIUS My place is here, I fight with you!
VALJEAN One day more!
MARIUS & COSETTE I did not live until today.
EPONINE One more day all on my own!
MARIUS & COSETTE How can I live when we are parted?
JAVERT(overlapping) I will join these people’s heros I will follow where they go I will learn their little Secrets, I will know the things they know.
VALJEAN One day more!
MARIUS & COSETTE Tomorrow you’ll be worlds away
EPONINE What a life I might have known!
MARIUS & COSETTE And yet with you my world has started
JAVERT (overlapping) One more day to revolution We will nip it in the bud We’ll be ready for these
Schoolboys
THENARDIERS (overlapping) Watch ’em run amok Catch ’em as they fall Never know your luck When there’s a free-for-all!
VALJEAN Tomorrow we’ll be far away, Tomorrow is the judgement day
ALL Tomorrow we’ll discover What our God in Heaven has in store! One more dawn One more day One day more!
April 1st is just right around the corner and that means the return of 2010’s breakout cable hit, Game of Thrones with a new season. The last couple weeks have seen numerous marketing and ad trailers hyping up this upcoming new season. Their latest trailer used a song that was quite memorable for how it sounded and how it fit in well with the mythology built during the first season.
The latest “Song of the Day” comes courtesy of the band Florence + The Machine and the song picked was from their latest album and is called “Seven Devils.”
I consider this song quite appropriate when it came to Game of Thrones since the song’s title takes a look at the opposite side of the show’s religion called The Seven. The song’s titles doesn’t just intimate that The Seven the people of Westeros worshipped may not be gods after all, but devils who have tempted many who pay lipservice to the faith and instead fall to temptation.
I wasn’t a major fan of Florence + The Machine when I was first introduced to them a couple years ago but time has since shown me the error of my ways.
Seven Devils
Holy water cannot help me A thousand armies couldn’t keep me out I don’t want your money, I don’t want your crown See I have come to burn your kingdom down
Holy water cannot help you now See I’ve got to burn your kingdom down And no rivers and no lakes can put the fire out I’m gonna raise the stakes, I’m gonna smoke you out
Seven devils all around me Seven devils in my house See they were there when I woke up this morning I’ll be dead before the day is done
Seven devils all around you Seven devils in your house See I was dead when I woke up this morning And I’ll be dead before the day is done Before the day is done
And now all your love will be exorcised And we will find you saints to be canonised And it’s an evensong It’s a melody It’s a final cry It’s a symphony
Seven devils all around me Seven devils in my house See they were there when I woke up this morning And I’ll be dead before the day is done
Seven devils all around you Seven devils in your house See I was dead when I woke up this morning And I’ll be dead before the day is done Before the day is done Before the day is done Before the day is done
You can keep me alive Till I tear the walls Till I save your heart And to take your soul What have we done? Can I be undone? In the evil’s heart In the evil’s soul
Seven devils all around you Seven devils in your house See I was dead when I woke up this morning And I’ll be dead before the day is done For the day is done
With Mass Effect 3 having been released to the masses earlier today it also means another official launch trailer which also happened to use a piece of music from the band Two Steps From Hell. BioWare used a song from this band to score their launch trailer for Mass Effect 2 two years ago. That song was “Heart of Courage” and it was a perfect choice made by the folks from BioWare.
This time around their latest pick from Two Steps From Hell to score their launch trailer for Mass Effect 3would also come from the band and is also the latest choice for “Song of the Day”.
The song is “Protectors of the Earth” and if that is not an apt and perfect choice for a game whose tagline is “Take Earth Back” then I don’t know what is. For one thing it adds a level of epic grandiosity to the trailer and the visuals chosen to help highlight the strengths of the game. What better way to usher in the installment to the Mass Effecttrilogy than with music will help inspire gamers to, as the game’s tagline has been pushing, “Take back Earth”.
I’m surprised that this is the very first post I’ve made for “Song of the Day” that’s unfiltered blues. I’ve posted songs which have blues influence in them from blues-rock to rhythm & blues, but never just pure blues. To rectify that slight mistake I’ve picked one of my favorite blues songs from one of my favorite bluesman with Taj Mahal’s dixieland blues jazz track, “Irresistible You“.
Right from the start this song just hooks it’s upbeat blues tempo with jazz trumpets and percussion plus Taj Mahal’s raspy, lived-in vocals. Most people equate blues to dour, downbeat songs, but just one listen to “Irresistible You” should disabuse that sort of musical stereotyping. This song may sound like dixieland jazz, but it’s a blues song true and true even when the piano section show’s up later to be followed by some solo horns before it leads to the final chorus.
I’ve listened to this song for an uncounted number of times and it always reminds me of my time when I visited and vacationed in New Orleans. When down and out this song always does it’s job in picking me up and telling me everything will be alright.
Irresistible You
Your magic hands … your lovin’ eyes Kissable lips … Baby, mine oh mine I’m in love … I’m in love And I know it’s true Tell me… who-o-o wouldn’t fall for irresistible you.
I don’t know what you got But it’s got me and I’m hooked Like a fish in the sea You make eagles call from above Make the Devil fall in love An-a … who-o-o … irresistible you.
Ohhh, come on … Lets walk awhile … I wanna talk … Talk talk talk to you honey child … You’ve been blessed … And you’re much … too much … There’s a wonder of a love in your touch.
Don’t ever fret … Don’t you worry about me I’ll never regret … How much you mean to me I love you … I love you My whole life through Tell me … who-o-o w=couldn’t fall for irresistible you.
Lets twist awhile …
Don’t ever fret … Don’t you worry about me I’ll never regret … How much you mean to me I love you … I love you My whole life through But tell me … who-o-o wouldn’t fall for irresistible you.
Well, finally reach Valentine’s Day and to the finish line of the romance-themed choices for “Song of the Day”. We’ve had quite a list of songs which looks at romance and love from many differing angles. In the end, all of the previous songs were just foreplay and led up to the choices made for today. I couldn’t decide which song from Marvin Gaye to pick so I went with both.
What better way to close out Valentine’s Day and Night but with the two songs which probably led to some exceptional endings to couples’ Valentine’s Day for decades since their release. So, here’s Marvin Gaye with “Let’s Get It On” and “Sexual Healing” and I hope everyone have a safe, exceptional and epic Valentine’s Day.
Let’s Get It On
I’ve been really tryin baby Tryin to hold back this feeling for so long And if you feel like I feel baby Come on, oh come on, ooh
Let’s get it on, ow baby Let’s get it on, let’s love baby Let’s get it on, sugar Let’s get it on, woo
We’re all sensitive people with so much to give Understand me sugar Since we got to be, let’s live, I love you There’s nothin’ wrong with me lovin’ you, baby no no And givin’ yourself to me can never be wrong If the love is true, oh baby ooh
Don’t you know how sweet and wonderful life can be, ooh ooh I’m askin’ you baby to get it on with me, ooh ooh ooh I ain’t goin’ to worry, I ain’t goin’ to push, won’t push you baby So come on come on come on come on come on baby Stop beatin’ round the bush, hey
Let’s get it on, ooh ooh Let’s get it on, you know what I’m talkin’ about Come on baby, hey hey, let your love come out If you believe in love let’s get it on, ooh Let’s get it on baby, this minute, oh yeah Let’s get it on, eeeeeeeeee Please get it on, hey hey
Come on come on come on come on come on darlin’ Stop beatin’ round the bush, oh, gonna get it on Beggin’ you baby I want to get it on You don’t have to worry that it’s wrong If the spirit moves you, let me groove you Good, let your love come down, oh
Get it on, come on baby, do you know I mean it I’ve been sanctified, hey hey Girl you give me good feelings, so good Somethin’ like summertime
Sexual Healing
Ooh baby, now let’s get down tonight
Baby I’m hot just like an oven I need some lovin’ And baby, I can’t hold it much longer It’s getting stronger and stronger
And when I get that feeling I want Sexual Healing Sexual Healing, oh baby Makes me feel so fine Helps to relieve my mind Sexual Healing baby, is good for me Sexual Healing is something that’s good for me
Whenever blue tear drops are falling And my emotional stability is leaving me There is something I can do I can get on the telephone and call you up baby, and Honey I know you’ll be there to heal me The love you give to me will free me If you don’t know the thing you’re dealing Oh I can tell you, darling, that it’s Sexual Healing
Get up, Get up, Get up, Get up – let’s make love tonight Wake up, Wake up, Wake up, Wake up – ‘cos you do it right
Baby I got sick this morning A sea was storming inside of me Baby I think I’m capsizing The waves are rising and rising
And when I get that feeling I want Sexual Healing Sexual Healing is good for me Makes me feel so fine, it’s such a rush Helps to relieve the mind, and it’s good for us Sexual Healing, baby, it’s good for me Sexual Healing is something that’s good for me And it’s good for me and it’s so good to me My baby ohhh
Come take control, just grab a hold Of my body and mind soon we’ll be making it Honey, oh we’re feeling fine You’re my medicine open up and let me in Darling, you’re so great I can’t wait for you to operate
(Heal me my darling) I can’t wait for you to operate
When I get this feeling, I need sexual healing oh when I get this feeling, I need Sexual Healing, I gotta have sexual healing, Darling ‘cos I’m all alone sexual healing, darling, ’till you come back home
We’re now at the penultimate choice leading up to Valentine’s Day. With the previous “Song of the Day” speaking of just how difficult staying in love can be it’s only natural that this pick for the latest song deals with a much more hopeful version of “Love Is”.
“Let’s Stay Together” is one of the most iconic soul tracks one can ever be introduced to. It comes from the same named album by soul artist Rev. Al Green and has been a staple in the playlist for pretty much every fan of R&B, soul and gospel music. Even President Obama has been seen and heard belting out a verse or two from the song of recent. It’s the quintessential song about taking a chance and becoming a couple no matter circumstance.
This is definitely a song which would be on my Valentine’s playlist for the night which would lead up to the song which would end the night. A song I shall save for tomorrow which also happens to be Valentine’s Day and the final song in this week-long romance-themed list.
Let’s Stay Together
I, I’m so in love with you Whatever you want to do Is all right with me ‘Cause you make me feel so brand new And I want to spend my life with you
Since, since we’ve been together Loving you forever Is what I need Let me be the one you come running to I’ll never be untrue
Let’s, let’s stay together Lovin’ you whether, whether Times are good or bad, happy or sad
Whether times are good or bad, happy or sad
Why, why some people break up Then turn around and make up I just can’t see You’d never do that to me (would you, baby) Staying around you is all I see (Here’s what I want us to do)
[Repeat to fade:] Let’s, we oughta stay together Loving you whether, whether Times are good or bad, happy or sad
The latest song as we get closer to Valentine’s Day has Vanessa Williams returning once again with some back-up in the form of R&B star Brian McKnight.
This one song surprised me when I first heard of it all the way back in 1993 when it was first released. What was surprising to me wasn’t how good it was, but that it was part of the Beverly Hills, 90201 soundtrack which came out the same year. That show was like the guilty pleasure for many people and the fact that they brought the show back with new pretty people for a new generation speaks volume toward it’s place in pop-culture history. But I’m not here to talk about that show. Instead I’m here to talk about “Love Is” sung as a duet by Vanessa Williams and Brian McKnight.
“Love Is” is not your typical ballad in that it doesn’t just try to push love and romance as something that’s great and something one cannot live without. On the contrary, this song speaks about love as being something that is hard to keep let alone struggle through. While love is something that’s both beautiful and easy to fall int. That’s the easy part. True love requires constant struggle to keep it from turning into something stale and destructive.
I think everyone who has ever truly fallen in love can understand what this song is talking about.
Love Is
[Vanessa Williams]
They say it’s a river, that circles the earth A beam of light shining to the edge of the universe it conquers all, it changes everything
They say it’s a blessing, they say it’s a gift they say it’s a miracle and I believe that it is it conquers all, but it’s a mystery
Love breaks your heart Love takes no less than everything Love makes it hard and it fades away so easily
[Brian McKnight]
In this world we’ve created in this place that we live in the blink of an eye the darkness slips in love lights the world unites the lovers for eternity
Love breaks the chains Love aches for everyone of us Love takes the tears and the pain, and it turns it in- to the beauty that remains
[Vanessa Williams]
Look at this place it was paradise, but now it’s dying I’ll pray forlove
[Brian McKnight]
I’ll take my chances that it’s not too late
[piano solo bridge]
[Vanessa Williams/Brian McKnight]
Love breaks your heart Love takes no less than everything Love makes it hard and fades away so easily
Oh oh oh
Love breaks the chains Love aches for everyone of us Love takes the tears and the pain, and it turns it in- to the beauty that remains
Through the Shattered Lens 